Companions All by Will B

Cousins All
by: Will B
(© 2007 by the Author)
Advisor: E Walk

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Jason and Nicky: You have found love with each other

and now together you soar on eagle’s wings in endless space.

We miss you, we miss your love and your wit

May peace and light fill your days.

From Chapter 14: The Lombardis and Tony have supper at the di Napolis’; Steve and Jim return home to their apartment after their “commitment trip.”

Chapter 15

The events of July 15.

This chapter sees the introduction of two new characters. Their names may remind the readers of real-life persons, but their actions and attitudes ‘are my own invention,’ as the White Knight said to Alice. No disrespect is intended to any real person, living or dead.

It was 5:00 in the evening and ‘Brimstone” and “Snake” were having a meeting at their headquarters in that abandoned warehouse. The room was dingy and dirty. A single light bulb barely revealed the flaking paint or the damp spots on the wall. Rats could be heard scrambling in the walls, and cockroaches, centipedes and millipedes scooted across the floor.

“He’s checking out a possible property for us to use for our playhouse for men who want to get it on with teenaged girls or boys,” Brimstone replied. “I told him to meet us at the address at 6:00.”

“Right, boss. Remember, you told me I could have any boys to break in and get ready for our customers. The more they resist, the more I’ll enjoy it. Hah hah hah!”

“Snake, I can’t figure you out. Making money is one thing, and sometimes we have to lean on the marks to make them pay up, but you . . . , you . . . want to give them some grief even if they pay up or do whatever we want. I just can’t figure you out – BUT, you are good at your job, so I let you do it your way. Just don’t damage the goods permanently.”

“We’re going to take the convertible. We have those magnetic rubber backed signs, with our ‘insurance company’ logo on them. We’ll arrive with the top down, but as we drive away and as soon as we’re out of sight, we’ll put the top up and remove the magnetic signs. The police won’t spot us.”

“We’ll go into the store, and I’ll ask this Lombardi guy, re-e-a-al nice, if he wants to take out accident insurance. If he disagrees, then you can talk about some of the things that might happen to him or his family,” “Brimstone” continued.

“Snake” gave an evil grin as he thought of some of the things he would like to do to that young boy, Tony. He’d show him some tricks he could use on the paying customers.

As they drove away, “Brimstone” was thinking to himself, ‘I think “Snake” is getting worse and worse. I’m afraid he’s gonna become a liability. I may have to think of retiring him, permanently!’

He was Captain Richard Vidmark, 47, a blond, blue-eyed man, with a piercing look in his eye that gave him an air of authority.

“Mark, I’ve heard this new captain is a tough guy. We have to notify our superiors when we change address, but what’s he going to say when we tell him we’re moving into an apartment together?”

“I don’t know, Al. We can tell him we’re doing it to save on living expenses. These days, with prices the way they are, I think he’ll understand.”

Outside the office a tall good-looking man in his mid-forties sat at the desk. The name plate on his desk, said “Troy Hunter, Lieutenant.”

“Officers Taylor and Johnson, we have an appointment to see Captain Vidmark,” Mark said.

Hunter spoke into the intercom on his desk, “Captain, Officers Taylor and Johnson are here, sir.”

The two young police officers went into the office. They saw a tall blond man get up from his desk, and walk towards them.

He stuck out his hand and said, “Officers Johnson and Taylor, I know you asked for this meeting, but I was going to send for you, anyhow. I want to meet all the men in my unit, and I have just been reviewing your folders.”

“That’s all right, men. Sit down and relax,” Vidmark said, as a smile spread across his face. “You two have received a number of commendations from other officers at this station, and there are some letters from members of the community telling of the ways you have gone ‘above and beyond,’ as they say, to help people. You two are a credit to the force.”

“I’m especially impressed with this alarm system you’ve installed at the Lombardi store. If that alarm ever goes off, I want you to know that I will be there as soon as I can. I know you have an alarm in your squad car, but you must have a back up. We’ve got to get rid of these thugs who prey on the honest citizens in Baltimore.”

“Well, you’re doing your job very well. Keep up the good work! Now, what did you want to see me about?”

“Well, sir, Mark and I are a team, and we get along well, and we’ve decided it would be more economical for us to share an apartment than for each of us to pay rent. We want to notify personnel of our change of address,” Al said.

“Hmmmm. I see,” said Captain Vidmark. “Well, men, you make an excellent team, and if you want to share living quarters, that’s fine with me. What you do in your off hours is your own business, but let me add this.” Vidmark looked as if he could read their minds and see into their souls.

Al thought, ‘Oh, no. What’s he gonna say now? Has he heard anything about Mark and me being a couple?’

Mark was thinking ‘Oh no! Is he gonna tell us that if we’re partners, we’re off the force?’

Vidmark continued, “Teamwork is everything in this job. You may be called on to risk your life for your partner. From what I’ve heard about you two, and from my own observations, there’s no doubt in my mind you would both risk your lives for each other, and that’s what makes you such a great team. The force needs more men like you. . . .

Now I think your shift is about over, and I imagine you will be wanting to get some dinner, so you can go.”

Vidmark sat at his desk for a moment and then opened a desk drawer and looked at the photograph of two young men who had posed with their arms around each other.

‘Oh, Joshua! Nathan!’ Vidmark thought to himself, ‘How I miss you, my sons! I know the love between you was more than fraternal, but you were two such wonderful young men, no father could have been prouder or loved you more.’

Vidmark, the strong police captain, Vidmark, the man whose look could quell the most arrogant crook, put his hands to his eyes as if to wipe away the tears that were forming there.

So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn’t hear the door open and didn’t hear Troy Hunter come into his office, and came to stand beside him.

Troy put his arm on Richard’s shoulder and said, “I know, my dear, I loved them too. I’m just thankful we still have each other.”

Just then Vidmark’s intercom crackled. “Captain,” said the dispatcher’s voice, “We’ve gotten the signal from the Lombardi store.”

“Right; I’m on it. Notify the others assigned to this detail to get to that store, ASAP!”

Al and Mark heard the alarm go off in their car, and they jumped in the car and drove off with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

At the Lombardis’ store:

It was a few minutes before six and Rosa was getting ready to close the store. Luigi was in the back and Tony was sweeping the floor.

Neither of them noticed the convertible pull up outside the store and stop. The car had removable magnetic signs on each door that said “A. D. Insurance Company.”

“We’re about to close, sir. Is there anything we can do for you?” she asked.

“Our agent called on you a few days ago about an insurance policy and now we have come to collect our first payment,” “Brimstone” said sneeringly. “After all, we know you want to protect your property and your family.”

“We told your agent we were not - -,” Rosa stopped when she saw a gun in the man’s hand.

“A gun! A gun! Oh, Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Santa Maria, help us,” Rosa cried as loud as she could.

“That won’t do any good, Missus. Just shut up, and you come here, boy. We’ll take you on a nice trip until your parents decide to pay up.”

Just then “Sulfur” (a.k.a. Davon Taylor) ran through the door. “Boss, you can’t do this to these people. I didn’t realize who we were putting the squeeze on until I got here. These people were good to my Mother. You can’t do it.”

“Shut up, you dumb-ass. I’m the boss here. I’ll decide what we do, and who we will lean on.”

Just then Mrs. Himmelfarb entered the store. “Hello, Rosa, I was wondering if you had any - -.” She stopped when she saw the gun in “Brimstone’s” hand.

“All right, all of you over against the wall except the boy. I think you better make up your mind quickly because I’ve got a friend out in the car who is very fond of young boys -very fond, if you know what I mean.”

“Brimstone’s” meaning was unmistakable, and both women were frantic with worry.

“No! You can’t do this!” said “Sulfur,” and he pulled out a gun, and he fired at “Brimstone.”

“Brimstone” fired at “Sulfur,” who was hit. As he fell to the floor, Sulfur” fired two more rounds, and one caught “Brimstone” right in the middle of the forehead. He was dead before he hit the floor.

“Sulfur” lay dying, but as he breathed his last, he said, “Tell Momma I’m sorry. I . . .,” and he closed his eyes.

Rosa and Luigi gathered Tony into a tight embrace, and just stood there, too shocked to say or do anything.

Outside, “Snake” saw what happened. He saw his two confederates go down, and then he heard police sirens in the distance. His one thought was to get away. He jumped in the car and sped off.

The approaching sirens brought the neighbors out in full force, John, Mary, and Rosa di Napoli dashed toward the store. They knew what the sirens meant. From the other direction Father Fitzgerald from St. Joseph’s ran as fast as he could. As he ran he prayed silently, ‘Holy Mother, please help us.’

He got to the store, went in, and saw Rosa, Luigi and Tony standing. “Are you all OK?” he asked.

Father Fitzgerald knelt down and examined her. “I think it’s only a flesh wound. She’ll be fine.” Mrs. Himmelfarb opened her eyes, and Father Fitzgerald said, “Mrs. H., it’s just a flesh wound. I’m going to put my coat under your head to make you more comfortable.”

Tony was impressed with the gentle way the priest cared for someone who was not of his faith. As he watched this display of Christian love, he made up his mind about something.

Just at that moment, the phone rang, and Rosa went into the living quarters of the house to answer it. After a minute or two she came back with a dazed but happy expression on her face.

She was about to tell Luigi and Tony what the call was about when several police cars stopped outside the store, and Al and Mark and Captain Vidmark came into the store.

Vidmark took charge immediately. He saw that there was a wounded woman and he called for an ambulance. Father Fitzgerald offered to go in the ambulance with her.

Then Captain Vidmark suggested that everybody move back into the living quarters and he would have one of his men take their statements in a few minutes.

Rosa, Luigi, Tony, John, Mary, and young Rosa went into the living room. Before they left, Rosa Lombardi said to Mark. “That young man saved our lives. He shot the other one.”

Vidmark then saw Mark Taylor standing over the body of one of the dead men, fighting to hold back the tears.

“Get a grip, Officer! He's just one scum-bag less we have to worry about,” he barked.

“Sir, he was a gangster, but he was also my brother,” Mark managed to get out.

“Mrs. Lombardi told me that he shot his own boss to save their lives,” added Al.

Vidmark’s expression changed immediately. “Taylor, I’m sorry. I guess I forgot that there can be some good even in the worst of us.”

Vidmark paused and then added, “Officer Taylor, I remember seeing in your personnel file that you have a mother and that she lives near here. I think you had better be the one to break the news to her, and then I want you to take some time off, at least until after the funeral, and maybe a couple of days after that.”

“And, Officer Johnson, I think it best if you take the same amount of time off as Officer Taylor. He will need some support in the next few days.”

“Yes, sir, thank you sir,” Al said, grateful for Vidmark’s compassion.

Al and Mark drove off on what must be one of the saddest duties of a police officer, to notify the next of kin of a death. Mark was thinking ‘I’m glad I’ll be the one to tell mother, and that I can tell her Davon died saving other people’s lives.’

Al was thinking ‘Thank God for Vidmark’s sensitivity. I almost wonder if he suspects that Mark and I are closer than just squad car buddies.’

When “Snake” saw what had happened inside the store, his one thought was to get the hell out of there. He drove out of that neighborhood and got onto Martin Luther King Boulevard, and then on to I-95 heading for Washington, D.C.

The posted speed limit was 65, but he was doing 85 or 90. He was so panic stricken that he had forgotten to raise the convertible’s roof and he hadn’t bothered to peel off those magnetic signs. He just wanted to get away.

Out past the Baltimore Beltway he drove as if the hounds of hell were after him.

Down through Howard County, and towards Prince George’s County. Faster and faster he drove.

Suddenly, out of the sky plunged two feathered creatures--eagles. Before “Snake” realized what was happening, one of the eagles had landed on the hood of the car, and spread its wings covering the windshield, so that “Snake” couldn’t see.

Then the other eagle dropped something in “Snake’s” lap. “The terrified driver looked down and saw it was a writhing, hissing, angry rattlesnake.

In the last few seconds of his life “Snake” saw the snake draw its head back and then it was STRIKING! STRIKING AGAIN, BITING “Snake’s” hands, arms, and legs again and again.

The convertible went out of control, hit a guardrail, went through it and rolled over and over down an embankment until it hit a tree and exploded into flames.

The last sensation “Snake” had before he lost consciousness was of incredible searing pain. He had enjoyed inflicting pain on others and now he was experiencing it for himself. Then he was dead.

At the moment the convertible went through the guardrail, the two eagles raised their wings and soared into the evening sky. Reaching a tall tree some few miles away, they lit on a branch and looked at each other and nodded their heads as if to say, “Well done!”

The Lombardis’ house was ablaze with light. Neighbors had been visiting all evening, asking what had happened and congratulating the family on their escape.

When everyone had gone home, except the di Napolis, Mama Rosa said, “I have something to tell you. A little while ago I had a phone call. It was from Mrs. Heckman at the Division of Social Services. She apologized for calling so late, but she wanted to tell us that our petition to adopt Tony has been approved. We are to go into the office on Monday morning, and the final papers will be signed. Tony, you will truly be our son.”

There was not a dry eye in that room that evening. As everyone was regaining their composure, there was a knock at the door.

“Oh, no,” said Luigi. “It’s late, I’ll go and tell them to come back in the morning.”

He went to the door and in a minute came back with Father Fitzgerald, who said, “I know it’s late my friends, but I thought you would like to know, Mrs. Himmelfarb was released from the hospital. It was just a flesh wound, and a bandage and a shot of antibiotics fixed her up just fine . . . Well, I’ll be going. I know it’s late.”

“Just a minute, Father,” Tony said. “There’s something I’d like to say. You know that my experiences with a so-called ‘church’ was not a happy one.”

Tony continued, “When I saw you caring for Mrs. Himmelfarb the way you did, and she isn’t even a member of your church, I realized that . . . . that .. . I want to be enrolled in your catechism class and eventually be baptized.”

Luigi beamed with pride. Mama Rosa and Mary were crying. John just smiled and clapped Luigi on the back. Young Rosa went to Tony, looked him in the eye and whispered “I’m so happy for you, Tony.”

Elsewhere that evening, Richard Vidmark and his friend and companion, Troy Hunter, were sitting in the den of their Bolton Hill town house, talking over the events if the day.

“Richard, I know you miss your sons, but don’t let your grieving color your life,” Troy said.

“I know Troy, I know, but it’s so hard, not to see them grow up. . . . Sometimes I don’t know how I can go on,” Richard replied.

“Look at it this way, my love. You’ve lost your sons, but you’re in a position to help many other young men. Look at those two officers who were in your office today—Taylor and Johnson. They’re just starting out on their careers, and you may be able to help them,” Troy said.

“You’re right, as usual. I will keep my heart for my sons, but I will use my brain and hands to help those men in my division. I will do my best, and I know you’re always there to help me.”

A little earlier, in another part of town, Mark and Al, stood on the sidewalk outside a modest row house.

“I guess this is it,” Mark said. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Mark went to the door, knocked and then opened it and called, “Ma! It’s me, it’s Mark. I’ve got Al with me.”

Editor’s comments: Thank goodness Tony is safe and the three villains are no longer a menace to society. Our illustrious author keeps us coming back for more with the introduction Captain Vidmark and the death of his two sons. Surely he’s going to tell what happened. How is Mark’s Mother going to respond to the news of Davon’s death? E

Author’s notes: Bolton Hill is am upper-middle class residential neighborhood in Baltimore not too far from the down town section. Some of the streets have grassy areas dividing the two lanes of traffic. Some of the houses are only one rooms (and a hallway) wide, but three stories high.